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Outdoor booths at Incheon Int'l Airport screening arrivals for COVID-19
Updated: 2020-03-26 17:17:03 KST
The South Korean has set up what it calls "walk-thru" testing booths at Incheon International Airport to test passengers who do not show symptoms.
Our Kim Jae-hee is there with the latest.
Jae-hee, it's the first day that these open "walk-thru" testing at Incheon International has been in operation. It doesn't look like they're open now, are they?

Connyoung, I'm standing in front of the walk-thru testing booths that've been set up here at Incheon.
They are now closed until tomorrow,.. but were set up earlier today, to quickly detect infections coming from abroad and to save time by testing people more rapidly.
They're located outdoors because the strong winds lower the risk of contamination or infection in the process of collecting samples.
The best things about the walk-thru system is its speed.
People who have gone through it say it was quick and efficient.
Take a listen.

"It was really efficient. I mean, It was just two minutes maybe, just getting something swabbed in my throat and putting something in my nose. So it was done really quickly and efficiently."

The government says each booth can test more than a dozen people an hour.
That's more than six times more faster than ordinary clinics, which can only test 2 or 3 people an hour.
It's even more efficient than the drive-thru centers, which can test 6 to 8 people in that time.
A total of 16 walk-thru booths have been set up at the airport, in both Terminals 1 and 2.

Now, these outdoor testing is only for those who are NOT showing symptoms, am I right?

Yes, Connyoung. Walk-thru tests are not for people with a cough, fever or other signs of the virus.
Only foreigners coming in from Europe, and only those without symptoms, are currently being tested here.

"Those who are found to have no symptoms are guided to the booths. The sampling begins after they fill out a simple form. The whole process only takes around five minutes."

Starting Friday, the walk-thru booths will be expanded to include all passengers from the U.S. as well.
And to make sure people are isolated as soon as the enter the country, even if they have no symptoms, the South Korean government is looking at giving them transportation from the airport to their destination.
That's all I have at this hour, but I'll be back with more updates in our later newscast.
Back to you.

Arirang News' Kim Jae-hee at one of South Korea's COVID-19 testing booths - only getting more innovative by the day - open "walk-thru"s now available at the Incheon International Airport.
Thanks, Jae hee for that.
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